The ability to quantify interactions between biomolecules is of great interest for scientific and medical research, as well as for drug development. Examples of measurable characteristics of a biomolecular interaction include the affinity (e.g., how strongly the molecules bind/interact) and the kinetics (e.g., rates at which the association and dissociation of molecules occur) of the interaction. Traditionally, such characteristics are measured in solution, using methods such as calorimetry, stop-flow imaging, or surface plasmon resonance. These bulk measurements are limited in many ways, including 1) they report only average behavior and thus may lose important details associated with metastable states and rare events, and 2) they measure chemistry in the absence of externally applied mechanical stress, which can be dramatically different from crowded and dynamic environments in living systems.
Recent development in single molecule measurement methods offers a different approach in quantifying molecular interactions by examining the behavior of individual molecules rather than measuring the properties of bulk solutions. This approach enables the observation of rare or fleeting events that can be obscured by ensemble averaging. The resulting detailed information of molecular transitions helps researchers to identify metastable states and to study the transitions rates and the chemical pathways between such states. Furthermore, heterogeneities between molecules in a population and within the behavior of a single molecule can both be quantified.
Currently, force probes that apply single molecule measurement methods include atomic force microscopes (AFM), optical traps, magnetic tweezers, biomembrane force probes, and flow chambers. Despite many advantages, these devices still have several limitations. For example, due to technical complexities, some systems require a large investment of money and time (e.g., optical trap systems typically cost $150 k or more). Additionally, molecular interactions are studied one molecule at a time in most cases. Statistical characterization of these interactions is therefore slow and painstaking, requiring hundreds or thousands of measurements which are typically performed in a serial manner.